[unreadable] [unreadable] This proposal is support for a new Gordon Research Conference, the 2008 Oceans and Human Health Gordon Conference (GRC) and its preceding Graduate Research Seminar: Oceans and Human Health (GRS). These meetings will take place June 28-29, 2008 (GRS) and June 29-July 4, 2008 (GRC). The subject of Oceans and Human Health concerns science at the intersection of medical, genomic and oceanographic disciplines, and the implications for and effects on human health and wellbeing. These effects often reflect complex processes whose elucidation requires an integration of information and knowledge from the medical, marine, and social sciences. Sources and impacts including human health effects and economic consequences of marine toxins and pathogens continue to be of great concern in this developing area of Oceans and Human Health. Of growing concern are human health effects from exposure to substances that occur widely in marine ecosystems [including synthetic organic chemicals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals (both introduced and anthropogenic)]. In addition, increasing consensus exists concerning the human health impacts of global warming and extreme events associated with the coasts and oceans. On the positive side, marine organisms, including in particular marine microbes, are a largely unexplored source of pharmaceuticals and other pharmacologically active products for the treatment of human diseases and dietary deficiencies, and fish and shellfish are important sources of high quality protein and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the human diet. [unreadable] [unreadable] The purpose and scope of the Gordon Research Conference (and its associated Graduate Research Seminar) on Oceans and Human Health are to provide a multidisciplinary platform for discussing the current state of knowledge of the rapidly evolving, highly interdisciplinary field of Oceans and Human Health, to identify and debate unresolved questions, and to discuss new research directions. The Conference and the Graduate Research Seminar will bring together experts and students with diverse backgrounds including algal and microbial biology, physical and biological oceanography, epidemiology and public health, genomics and proteomics, toxicology, pharmacology, and economics. The topics the investigators propose to cover include aspects of these disciplines involving broad and focused areas. Through formal presentations, poster sessions and informal interactions between scientists and students, the Conference will help define and move the field forward. An important motivation for the proposed Gordon Research Conference and its associated Graduate Research Seminar is that as a new scientific discipline, Oceans and Human Health does not have a forum to facilitate interactions and dialogue among the scientists and students involved in research relevant to oceans and human health. The significance of the field is reflected by the support of Centers for Oceans and Human Health by the NIEHS and the National Science Foundation. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]